Every day nearly 4,000 kids under 18 try their first cigarette and 1,000 kids under 18 become daily smokers. Virtually all new users of tobacco products are under the minimum legal age to purchase such products. Many of these kids will become addicted before they are old enough to understand the risks and will ultimately die too young of tobacco-related diseases.

Last year, in order to help enforce these laws, FDA awarded contracts to 15 states to assist in inspecting retail establishments that sell cigarettes and/or smokeless tobacco products. In the upcoming years, FDA plans to award enforcement contracts to all states and U.S. territories to assist with enforcement of the Tobacco Control Act.

The goal of the State Enforcement Program is to improve public health and to protect young people by bringing enforcement action against retailers who violate the law. State inspectors under these FDA enforcement contracts conduct compliance check inspections to determine if retailers comply with the law, including whether the retailer:

sells a tobacco product to a minor;

requests proper identification;

sells prohibited flavored cigarettes or individual cigarettes; and

sells tobacco products in a self-service display, like a vending machine, which can be accessed by minors.

We appreciate the efforts and commitment of all states who have contracted with FDA to assist in enforcing the Tobacco Control Act and FDA regulation. More than 95 Warning Letters have been issued to retailers for illegal sales of cigarettes and/or smokeless tobacco to minors. FDA’s website posts Warning Letters that have been issued as well as a list of retailers that have been inspected and where no violations were observed.

We encourage anyone who is aware of retailers who may violate the Tobacco Control Act to report violations to FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products through our website, by email or by phone (1-877-CTP-1373).

What will happen if retailers will be found selling cigarettes to minors? In my opinion, to be better implement the law, a large fine should be charged against retailers that are caught selling cigarettes to minors.

The FDA has a set a goal of establishing contracts with every U.S. state and territory which would assist in investigations of establishments that have sold tobacco products to minors. I think this is a great idea and would support these contracts in every state. The FDA should also consider the number of minors who receive tobacco products from older friends, acquaintances, etc. We should commend the retailers who have had no offenses and keep a watchful eye on those establishments who have sold tobacco products to minors. Asking to see ID takes no more than a few seconds and is an easy step to sway minors away from purchasing tobacco products. Thank you to the FDA for making this information available.

The start of this article shocked me . In particular “Virtually all new users of tobacco products are under the minimum legal age to purchase such products”

I had never thought about this before but it makes perfect sense you never see people start smoking at 25, 30 , 45 .That would seem crazy giving the data on smoking related illness.The people addicted to smoking must have started when they were at a young age.

I wass wondering if you ever considered changing the page layout of your website?
Its very well written; I love what youve got tto say. But matbe you could a litttle more in the
way of content so people coulld connect with it better.
Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two pictures.
Maybe you could space it out better?